An introduction to cats
Their history
The cat is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family.
Cats were first domesticated in the Near East around 7500 BC.
It was long thought that cat domestication was initiated in ancient Egypt, as since around 3100 BC veneration was given to cats in ancient Egypt.
By helping to reduce disease and protect crops, cats were quickly regarded as sacred creatures by the Egyptians.
The earlier ancestors of today's domestic cats spread from southwest Asia and into Europe as early as 4400 B.C. The cats likely started hanging around farming communities in the Fertile Crescent about 8,000 years ago, where they settled into a mutually beneficial relationship as humans' rodent patrol.
There are many cat breeds!
The domestic cat originated from Near-Eastern and Egyptian populations of the African wildcat, Felis sylvestris lybica. The family Felidae, to which all living feline species belong, arose about ten to eleven million years ago.
The Maine Coon cat breed is actually the first original cat breed of the United States. They originally hailed from the tiny–and typically frigid–state of Maine
Abyssinian Cat · American Bobtail Cat Breed · American Curl Cat Breed · American Shorthair Cat · American Wirehair Cat Breed · Balinese-Javanese Cat ... there are endless possibilities!